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LANCASTER – The excessive rains of this past spring and earlier this summer have become but a memory for Ohio’s agricultural producers, as drier, cooler weather this month has allowed for consistent bouts of fieldwork.

The state’s crops have benefited from the improved conditions as well.

“Due to continued dry weather, wheat harvesting is nearly finished statewide, and growers are making good progress on baling second and third cuttings of hay,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said in its latest Ohio crop weather report, out late Monday. “Corn still appears in good shape, with 76 percent good to excellent, compared to 79 percent a year ago at this time. Soybeans are in good condition, too, with 69 percent good to excellent compared to 70 percent a year ago at this time.”

Joe Cornely, spokesman for the Ohio Farm Bureau, echoed those numbers Tuesday while attending the Ohio State Fair in Columbus.

“It’s safe to say that, in general, the crops look really good across the state. The weather hasn’t been perfect, but the problems aren’t regionwide. They’re spotty,” he said.

Sixty-nine percent of Ohio’s corn crop had silked, or produced visible tufts where the ears will grow, as of Sunday, the USDA said, behind last year’s pace of 84 percent at this time last year and the five-year average of 74 percent. Just 9 percent of the crop has ears filling out so far, compared with 8 percent last year and the five-year average of 12 percent.

Meanwhile, 71 of the state’s soybeans had bloomed as of Sunday, according to the USDA, on pace with last year’s 72 percent and the five-year average of 72 percent. Twenty-four percent of the crop has set pods, compared with 22 percent in 2013 and the five-year average of 26 percent.

“While most of the state continues to dry out, there was precipitation in some areas, and the areas with moisture stress appear to be sparse,” the federal agency said.

Although 67 percent of the state’s agricultural topsoil has adequate moisture, 21 percent is now considered short on water, according to the USDA.

The agency reported 80 percent of Ohio’s alfalfa fields had their second cutting by Sunday, with 18 percent up to their third cutting.

Fifty-seven percent of the state’s pasture and rangeland is in good condition, with 25 percent considered fair.

Last week’s temperatures were cooler than normal across almost all of the state, all the way down to 5 degrees below normal in Fremont, although Zanesville managed to eke out temperatures 5 degrees higher than the norm, according to preliminary data from the National Weather Service.

July’s cooler temperatures might have a negative influence on crops that went in the ground late and still are trying to mature, but for fields that are further along, the mild conditions have been ideal for pollination. They’ve also been ideal for Rockside Vineyards and Winery owner Ron Rutter.

“It’s been a very positive summer,” he said. “The rain has helped up to a certain point. But after August, we don’t want to see much rain because too much moisture can cause mold and mildew on the vine.”

Rutter said the summer conditions are a payback from the brutal winter.

“We’ve had a pretty good crop so far,” he said. “A hot and dry summer would be worse than what we’ve had.”

Witten Farm Market owner Tom Witten sweet corn is a cool weather crop, so it is doing well. However, he said tomatoes and bell peppers like hot and dry weather and have not been doing as well.

“There is some blight on the tomatoes,” Witten said. “They get diseased if there are too many heavy fogs or it stays wet for too long.”

Ohio State University Extension program assistant Connie Smith said the weather has been good for corn. But like Witten, she said tomatoes and peppers have not be great, especially for home growers. She said cooler weather can cause the plants to have less edible fruit and more vegetation on them.

Smith’s husband, Stan, who also is a program assistant in OSU’s Fairfield County extension office, said that, while corn fields might look good from a distance, there could be some water spots in some after further inspection. He said that is particularly true in the northern part of the county because it has rained more there than in other county areas.

Typical for midsummer, last week’s precipitation amounts were all across the map statewide, although generally under an inch, bottoming out at just 0.05 inch in Newark. Marion, however, managed just over an inch of rain.

For the period beginning April 1, regions across the state continue to show precipitation surpluses, up to 6.89 inches above normal in Newark.

The USDA’s latest crop progress report for the nation finds some promising crop conditions in certain states, with 30 percent of Illinois’ corn in excellent shape, 33 percent in Missouri and 35 percent in Pennsylvania. Soybean fields across the U.S. are generally down in the good to fair categories.

The promise of high yields, possibly to record levels, this fall has resulted in some low prices for corn and soybeans, with the former down to a five-year low.

“Certainly, prices are down, but they’re down from historically high levels. And while a corn farmer doesn’t like low corn prices, a livestock farmer does. One person’s good fortune is another person’s bad fortune,” Cornely said.

“Prices go up and prices go down, and farmers are used to that in both the short and long term. What squeezes farmers is that the cost of production hasn’t gone down.”

Cornely noted, however, that Ohio’s agricultural producers have tools to protect themselves from being forced to sell when grain prices are lower, typically at harvest time, from on-site storage to contracting with a commercial storage unit to buying and selling futures and options contracts.

“We will have to worry about storage capacity if there’s a bumper crop, because there may not be enough bin space to hold it all,” Cornely said.

However, while states such as North Dakota, in the midst of an energy boom, are grappling with higher freight costs this summer as their wheat harvest comes in, “we’re pretty fortunate that we have more transportation options in Ohio, with rail, the Ohio River, Lake Erie and our interstate system,” Cornely said.

Finally, for those with mink interests, Cheryl Turner, state statistician for the National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Ohio Field Office, reported that mink pelt production in Ohio in 2013 was 104,900 pelts, with 24,260 mink bred to produce kits this year.